Antifriction-spring.



J. M. HAMILTON.

ANTIFRICTN SPRING.

APPLlcATloN HLED .\Pn.30.1917.

1L 258 'l Patented Mar. 5,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. M. HAMiLTON.

ANTIFRICTION SPRING.

PPUCTION FILED APR-30. lgl- 1,258,561 Patented Mar. 5,1918.

2 SHEES-SHEEIZ.

THN M. HAMILTON', DIE' LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ANTIFJRICTION-SPRING'.

Application lerl April 30, 1917.

To all 107mm it may Concern.'

Be it known that I, loi-IN IVI. HAMILTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Antifriction- Springs, o1" which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to springs such as are" used upon automobiles, railway carria ges and other vehicles; and it is a primary object of this invention to provide a spring, or provide a device which may be attached to or built into a spring of the character described, which device will etliciently obviateand do away with the friction usually generated between the superimposed leaves of such spring.

Among the particular' objects of this invention I may mention the following: the provision of a device in such form as to not interfere with the flexible movements of the spring; the provision of means for excluding foreign matter, such as the dust and grime from roads; and the provision of the device in such form as to be easily and eiliciently lubricated. It is also an object to provide a device in such' form that the assembly of duplicate units will provide for different lengths of springs. And it is genorally an object to provide a device which is simple and inexpensive, which will reduce the friction to a negligible quantity, and which, when once installed, needs practically no attention, or very little attention.

I prefer to use rollers as the rolling bearing elements; but, this is not necessarily the case as, foi instance, balls may be used instead of rollers. Specific organizations and constructions are described in the following detailed specification, and for the purpose of this specification reference is had to the accompanying drawing in which Figure l is a plan, parts being broken away for the purpose o't' illustration, of a spring equipped with my invention; Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation and partial longitiulinal section of the same; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sec- "ion showing a part of what is shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a cross section taken as indicated by line i on Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view taken as indicated by line 5--5 on Fig. J3; Fig. G is a section taken as indicated by line 6 on Fig. 3; Fig. 'i' is a section taken as indicated by line 7- 7 on Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 5, showing a Sp eciicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1918.

seran No. 165,337.

modified form of construction; Fig. 9 is a section similar to that of Figs. 4 and 6, but taken as indicated by line 9-9 on Fig. 8; Fig. l0 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing another modified construction; Fig. 11 isa section taken as indicated by line l1 on Fig. 1t); and Fig. l2 is a View taken as indicated by line 12 on Fig. 10. l

In the drawings I have shown al spring including the usual spring leaves'lO. These spring leaves l0 may be of any size resiliency, stiffness and number., Accorting to my invention I place between the leaves the rolling bearing ll. These rolling bearings are preferably in the form of rollers, as illustrated, the rollers being of a length slightly less than the width of the spring leaves. Fig. 2 shows a preferred arrangement of the rolling bearings. In the ordinary spring' it is not necessary to continue the rolling bearings through the central parts of the. spring; but the spaces between the central parts of the leaves are filled by members l2 which may be, and preferably are, auxiliary spring members. However, the particular characteristics of these members l2 is not a part of thesubject matter of the present invention. In my copending application, Serial No. 136,133, filed December ll, 1916, I have Set forth and claimed the auxiliary spring members and their combination with anti-friction devices.

This present application is restricted to anti-friction devices alone.

In a preferred arrangement the rolling bearings extend from the end of each leaf part way to the center, as is clearly Shown lin Fig. 2. However, this arrangement may be modified according to particular and specific requirements. In the usual spring, the greatest amount of relative movement of the leaves takes place not at the center but at the outer portions of the leaves; while the relative movement of the leaves near the center is practically negligible. In any case the rolling bearings will extend in far enough toward the center to eliminate any substantial friction caused by relative movements of the leaves.

In Figs. 3, 4t, 5, 6 and 7 I show my now preferred form ot' structure and of detail. The antisfriction bearing rollers 11 are held in a flexible spacing member, which is also a bearing holding member; and these members are preferably made up of individual frames flexibly connected together' by being pvotedd lll 'is held between flanges (intl ln the form shown in these figures, these frames i3 are preferably each formed as an integral whole from a plate of sheet metal, and have side flanges lll which stand flush with the side edges of the spring leaves l0. 'llhese flanges let are pivoted one to another at l5 one end of each flange being inwardly olf set at l5 so that it may overlap the other ad jacent end of a flange on an adjacent frame. The body or plate ll of each spacer frame stands about centrally in the space between adj acont spring leaves l0 and substantially in the plane of the centers of the rollers ll. lo form the side flanges la the plate is bent upu Wardly along its tvvo opposite side edges, as shown at 19, and then baclr downwardly to form the flanges la, so that the upper edges of the flanges la nearly touch the spring leaf 10 above them, while the loiver edges of flanges la are made to nearly touch the spring leaf l() below" them. lt will be readily seen that the collective flanges 'il close the spaces between. the adjacent spring leaves against. the entry of dust or other foreign matter; but the flanges being pivoted together, do not interfere with the flerible movement of the spring leaves. ln order that the flanges do not interfere with the flexibility of the spring leaves, the flanges, and the frames 13, are made relatively short. ln the form shown in lfigs. B to l l show the frames 3 7 as being of a length corresponding to the longitudinal spacings betvveen the rollers ll. 'lhe pivotal connections 15 are co-axial with the rollers ll, and each roller E20 and 2l at the opposing ends of adj acont spacing frames. Illhe flanges 20 are turned downwardly from the ends of the plates l'l, vvhile the flanges 2l are turned upwardly. vhlanges 2l are situated atr the sides of each end of each plate 17, While flanges Q0 are situated medially of each end of each plate ll. llhe flanges 20 are arranged in staggered relation. llt Will be seen that the flanges, standing as they do at angles to the plates l?, reinforce the plateJ and stillen it against being bent or deformed from its proper flat form. lf the flanges 20 were placed exactly opposite each other., then the non-reinforced parts (at the ends of flanges 2O and 2l) on the opposite end edges of each plate would be directly opposite each other; and the plate would therefore be more easily bent along a line which Would entend directly along the plate l'f in a general lon gitudinal direction from the end of a flange 2G to the end of the opposite flange 20. ldy staggering the flanges E20 this line of least resistance to bending is placed diagonally across the plate, so that bending is not so liable to occur. lt is important that the plate l'l' be maintained in proper flat shape, so that the flanges 2U and 2l may properly confine .e rollers 'Without binding upon them.. lfreferably, the rollers are somewhat loosely held between the opposing sets of flanges. Furthermore, the flanges are made of such ent-ent that they securely hold the rollers against accidental displacement from the spacing and holding means, when the devices are in the conformation shown in the drawings. However, by cent spacing frames about their pivotal confV nection until a position is reached Where either the flanges 2O or the flanges 2l are abutted edgewise against each other, the other flanges are spread apart s0 that the rollers may be removed and inserted.

'.lhe specific form of device which has now been just explained embodies the main features of my invention and also contains sev eral specifically is advantageous to construct the device in the manner described, on account of simplicity of manufacture and simplicity of assembly and efficiency of operation. llt is advantageous to have theflexibility off the bearing spacing means occur co-anially with the bearings themselves, because no interference is then made with the proper engagelnent of the bearing rollers With the surfaces of the spring leaves.

at the inner end of each chain of spacing frames there is a special spacing frame 13a which, instead of being pivoted to the nent spacing frame, is pivoted at Q2 to the membeil llt the outer end of each chain of spacing frames there is a special member i3 pivoted to the outermost frame 13 in the manner hereinbefore described; but this special member 13b has a flange lill extending completely around its outer end, so as to close the space between the spring leaves at the outer end to prevent entry of dust and other foreign matter.

Although lubrication of the anti-friction bearings is not as important a matter as the lubrication of an ordinary leaf spring, yet it is desirable to lubricate the bearings. This l may do by merely dropping a small amount of lubricant into the outermost frame 13. rlhis lubricant 'will work onto the outermost roller 1l and be carried by the movement of that roller over onto the nent frame 13, and so on, all of the rollers; and any surplus will then run off the innermost frame 13 and Will Work in between the spring leaves l0 and members l2. rllhis lubricating action is pos' sible because the frames 13 are preferably imperforate and will carry the lubricant from one roller to the next. lln fact, these members 13 may be used as trays for carrying a charge grease or the like; or small blocks 25 of suitable lubricant carrying material, such as felt, may be inserted in the members 13 on the plate 17. lff this is done, or if the frames are filled 'with alubricant,

such as ease, in. any `suitable manner, the device needs enceptionalry little attention, i

flexing tvvo adya-v advantageous features. llt' until it is carried onto lllfl lll intrecci being always perltectly oiled and protected against the entry et rtereign matter. Any lubricant, to get out el the trames, must pass through the center part or the opening which holds thevroller. rllhe side flanges 21 project upwardly and prevent the downward movement of oil at the sides. Consequently, the oil is always kept in toward the center ot the leaves and does not low out at the edges.

ln Figs. B and 9 l illustrate'a modied term of structure in which the spacing trames 13C have no ilanges 20 and 21; but the rollers 11n are hollow; and pivot pins 15a pass loosely through the roller, these pivot pins 15l being also the pivots by which the adjacent frames 13c are pivoted together end to end. ln this case, the plate 1? of each spacer trame 13C docs not pertorm a direct otlice in spacing and holding the rollers, as it does in the form shown in Figs. 3, etc.; so that the plates 17 might, in this form of Figs. 8 and 9, be dispensed with en tirely, and the danges la would then constitute virtually the whole ot the spacer trame.

ln lligs. 10, 11 and 1Q ll illustrate another form in which the spacing 'trames 13 are still relatively short in the longitudinal di rection along the spring leaves, and are pivoted togetl'ier end to end at 15d. But in this ,torni each frame 131 carries a plurality of rollers 11 held between flanges 20d as illustrated in the drawing. The rollers may preferably be somewhat loose between the llanges, but are held so as to avoid accidental displacement; and the looseness et the rolli ers is such, that with any ordinary curvature et spring, the rollers may remain 1n correct bearing engagement with the surfaces of the spring leaves without binding on the flanges and without the necessity ot' bendingrthe trames 13d. For this purpose such trames as shown at 13 may be made slightly curved instead of precisely flat, so as to conform to the normal curvature ot the spring. These iframes 13 have the daugcs l-l which hang downwardly from the plate 17d; and these flanges may be ot such width that ,they hang downwardly slightly over theedge ot the spring leaf directly below them so as to effectively enclude `foreign matter. The pivotings at 15l arc preferably on the center lilies of the rollers, so that the flexing action ot the sprinp; will not cause the rollers to move by moving the trames, as would be the case il the pivots were oil the center line.

l have :found by experience that when the device is in action the roller has little or no individual movement relative to its carrying trame; so that, with a slight looseness of the roller in the trame, there is no appreciable friction developed between the roller and the carrying frame or the roller holding dangers. nllhere is no appreciable strain on the pivotal connections between the trames, because the slight looseness of the pivotal joints will take care of any slight frame movement.

It vv ill new be seen that l have herein pro-` vided a device ot simple Jform which acts efficiently to relieve the ordinary friction generated between the superimposed leaves ot such a spring as described. My device almost entirely eradicates that friction; and at the same time it does not at all interfere with the proper resilient movement of each spring leaf. The total result is then that the spring is induced and allowed to have a Olrealer flexibility of resilient action and to have its resilience eifectually increased; and this is particularly further induced by the tact that I provide elticient lubricatingmeans and ctlicientmeans tor preventing deterioration ot' the bearing by entry of foreign matter.

Having described a preferred form ot my invention, l claim:

1. ln. combination, a spring of the charactor described having superimposed leaves and roller bearings spaced longitudinally ot the leaves between them and extending transversely across the leaves, and holding and spacing trames for the roller bearings embodying relatively short trames each holding a set et said bearings, and adjacent 'Frames being pivotally connected together.

Q. lu combination, a spring oit the character described embodying a plurality of superimposed leaves; spring spacing members between adjacent leaves cxtcndingtrom the center of the leaves part way to their ends: antiffriction roller bearings between the leaves outside of said spacing members embodying a series of rollers extending transversely across the leaves and spaced longitudinally thereon; and carrying and spacing means for the rollers embodying relatively short trames each holding a set oi rollers, each frame being pivotally connected to the adjacent trames and the innernlost trames pivotally connected to said auxiliary spring members.

il. ln combination, a spring of the character described having superimposed leaves, rollinga bea rings spaced longitudinally of the leaves, and relatively short holding and spacing frames for the rolling bearings, adjacent trames being `flexibly connected togethcr.

'l. ln combination, a spring of the character described having superimposed leaves, rolling bearings spaced longitudinally between the leaves, and relatn ely short spacing trames for the rolling hearings connected together end to end, said frames having side lflanges outside the rolling bearings to close the space between adjacent spring leaves.

5. ln combination, a spring of the characlll till

:hat

ter described having superimposed leaves, rolling bearings spaced longitudinally between the leaves, sectional flexible bearing spacing means, and side flanges on said means outside the bearings to close the spaces between adjacent spring leaves.

6. In combination, a spring of the char-- acter described having superimposed leaves, rolling bearings spaced longitudinally between the leaves, relatively short spacing frames for the rolling bearings connected together end to end, said lrames having side flanges outside the rolling bearings to close the space between. adjacent spring leaves, and lubricating pads `held in the spacing frames.

Y. ln combination, a spring oi the character described having superimposed leaves, rolling bearings spaced longitudinally be tween the leaves, and spacing members for the rolling bearings pivotally connected t0- gether end to end on pivotal axes coincident with the axes of the rolling bearb-lgs.

8. ln combination, a spring of the character described having superimposed leaves, rolling` bearings spaced longitudinally7 between the leaves, and spacing members for the rolling bearings pivotally connected together end to end on pivotal axes coincident with the axes of the rolling bearings, said spacing members having bearing holding flanges at each of their opposite ends and the rolling bearings being held between op posing flanges of adjacent members.

9. lin combination, a spring of the character described having superimposed leaves, rolling bearings spaced longitudinally between the leaves, spacing and holding means for the bearings eml'iodying a plurality et.' spacing frames pivoted together end to end on altes coincident with the bearing ailes, said spacingI frames having bearing holding' flanges at each oli their opposite ends and the rolling bearings being held between opposing flanges of adjacent frames, and side 4flanges on the opposite sides ot each frame outside the rolling bearings to close the space between adjacent leaves and protect the bearings against entry of foreign matter.,

lll. ln combination, a. spring 0l the chan acter described having superimposed leaves, rolling bearings spaced longitudinally be tween the leaves, and spacing and holding means for the bearings cn'ibodying a rality et spacing frames j aiveted to. end to end on a. es coincident with the bear ing ailes, each oit sai-ol spacing frames eing bodying a fiat plate having bearing holding ,titll flanges at each of their opposite ends and having side flanges to close the space between adjacent spring leaves.

ll. ln combination, a spring of the character described having superimposed leaves, rolling bearings spaced longitudinally between the leaves, spacing and holding means for the bearings embodying a plurality of spacing frames pivoted together end to end on axes coincident with the bearing axes,-

13. ln combination, a spring of the char-I acter described having superimposed leaves, rolling bearings spaced longitudinally of the leaves, and sectional spacing members for the rolling bearings, adjacent sections of the members being flexibly connected together.

la. ln combination, a spring` of the chan actor described having superimposed leaves,.

anti-friction devices between the leaves embodying rolling bearings, and a plurality of bearing spacing and lubricant carryii'lg members flexibly connected together end to end. y

l5. in cmnbination, a spring of the character described having'- superimposed leaves, rolling bearings spaced longitudinally between the leaves, and bearing spacing frames pivotally connected together on axes at the rolling bearings, holding the bearings be tween adjacent ends of adjacent frames.

lll. ln combination, a spring of the character described having superimposed leaves, rolling bearings spaced longitudinally bctwcen the leaves, and bearing spacing frames pivotally connected together on axes at the rolling bearings, holding the bearings between adjacent ends ef adjacent iframes, said trames being vtermed between their ends to carry lubricant. l

witness that ll claim the foregoing l have hereunto subscribed my name this 24th day of ilipril, lill?.

llllitness linens rl. lannntnw. 

